(Nope, this photo ain’t from Texas, but bear with me a bit…) Yesterday I checked “drive through Atlanta on I-85 during rush hour” off my bucket list. Granted, it was down toward the bottom of the list, right around “get stung by a dozen marauding cow killers”, “burn a scented candle that smells like a …
For seventy-one years Vencil Mares arrived early in the morning at the Taylor Cafe (the red building on the left) where he greeted his customers and watched the trains roll by. Today, his spot was empty. This morning, he passed away at the age of ninety-six. This Texas Monthly interview from February 2014 is fantastic:https://www.texasmonthly.com/bbq/pitmaster-interview-vencil-mares-of-taylor-cafe/
Next up on our list of men on the First Christian Church building committee is “H BLAND.” Now you might be thinking “Wait… shouldn’t we have another picture of the First Christian Church building then?” Don’t worry, there will be more of those. But Mr. Bland’s name is Howard Bland, and he was responsible for …
While sometimes I wish I’d lived in times past, I can’t deny that I’m fortunate to live in an age where I can dig up an astounding amount of history from the comfort of my own laptop. It would, for instance, be fantastic to see steam locomotives operating on a regular basis, but historical research …
Colonel Charles P. Vance’s ties to Lexington, Texas Read More »
You may have already guessed this, but I really love digging into history! On Friday, I wrote about how another member of Rev. Richard M. Gano’s family served on the building committee that guided the construction of the 1891 First Christian Church building in Taylor. (The stained glass window in the picture is one of …
Last Sunday, David Heap and I spent some time chatting while I was photographing the First Christian Church building in Taylor. A number of things from that conversation piqued my interest. First, his father had once played at a joint where the band was behind chicken wire (a la Blues Brothers). But that’s not really …
Did Rev. Richard M. Gano have connections to Taylor? Read More »
So we clocked 313.6 miles today… the longest road trip we’ve made in a while! But when a nearly-eighty-year-old locomotive that also happens to be the largest operating steam locomotive in the world is going to be only an hour east of home, you do what you have to do. Union Pacific 4014 is a …
Until recently, I had no idea that the “fight scene” in Secondhand Lions was filmed near Austin. This is the Cele Store, which is about five minutes east of SH 130 and Plufgerville. That’s right, this is where Hub McCann taught those young punks the correct way to wield their switchblades. One of these days …
This is St. John’s Lutheran Church of Richland, Texas. The congregation was organized in 1878. Its building is the third to serve the church, and was completed in 1925. Last year when my parents were out here, we drove by this church. I tried (and failed) to get good photos. We happened by it again …
Last Sunday, a lady who is a member of this church (Palm Valley Lutheran Church, which is between Round Rock and Hutto on US 79) was a guest at St. Paul Thorndale. I said something along the lines of “Oh! I’m reading a book that was written by one of your former pastors… I’m blanking …